Don’t get us wrong, we love the warmth it brings. But the season often lulls us into a false sense of security that winter’s wrath might actually be over. In turn, we excitedly break out our BBQs and wheel our bicycles out of storage in anticipation of many sunny days ahead.

And then, when we least expect it–snow. Lots of it.

Fortunately, a sudden burst of winter is looking pretty unlikely this year. Or at least, that’s the word from Environment Canada Senior Climatologist Dave Phillips.

“It’s been balmy, really from one coast to the other,” he said, referring to the current national forecast.

While much of Eastern Canada was buried in snow yesterday, don’t let that fool you. Winter has so far been limited to February and March for most of Canada because of a super-charged El Nino. And that’s also the reason Environment Canada is expecting an extra warm spring.

“We know that El Nino is past its prime, it’s weakening. But it’s not dead in the water,” Phillips said. “…we’re showing the conditions of spring being warmer than normal.”

Of course, since this is Canada, we’re not entirely out of winter’s grasp just yet. Phillips cautions that despite the balmy forecast, you might want to leave your bikes and BBQs where they are for now, just in case.

“Until April’s dead, change not a thread,” he said.

Even still, we’re looking forward to a warmer-than-usual months to come. For more information on national weather trends, check out the video above.